ceiling in bedroom

[skier-hughes]

I'm considering the approach I take to the ceiling in the bedroom.
The woodwork is I believe known as a cruciform design?
You've seen the pictures previously, so here's another, but there are two large main beams forming a +
Then in each square we have beams that look like this
- I
I -

Now, should I just use plasterboard to make the ceiling?
If so, due to the age and condition of some of the beams, would I be better screwing the plasterboard down?
How about using a thin piece of ply to help distribute the force of the screw?
I'm thinking this as the beams do go merrily up and down wherever they want to
I'd then give the plasterboard a skim over with plaster.

Are there any oher options I should be lookng at?

I thought about boarding it, so really using floorboards, but this would add enormously to the cost.
It would though give me a walking space in the loft, without trying to guess where the beams are to walk on!!!!!
I can see a post in Graham's top tips coming here!!!!
We ahve no intention of moving up into the loft space.

None of the upstais ceiling are original or date back from before 1951, so I have no idea what might have been used previously.

There is no indication that lath and plaster was used, ie no plaster on the beams, no grooves for the laths to fit into, which the uprights have.

 

[biffvernon]

How about a lime ash floor? Lay reeds across and pour on a lime + gyspum + sand mix, a couple of inches thick.

Good crop of reeds in your moat?

 

[skier-hughes]

No reeds at all in the moat, anything we plant the ducks and geese eat.
I've netted some off to get them going, but it'll be a fair few years before I have enough to do a ceiling.

Any handy links to that? Or I'll google.

Graham

 

[Cloudscape]

Are you intending to leave the beams visible? The main ones, or all of them? I actually like the idea of boarding (on the upper side of the beams), although I appreciate that the costs are higher.

 

[MdB]

You can get american oak floorboards for less than £25/m^2 (inc vat) though this will mount up if you have a fair size to cover.

 

[skier-hughes]

Sorry, yes the beams are going to remain visible, so the plasterboard (or whatever) would be on the upper side.
The room is 25sqm.
As we have oak floorboards going down, I didn't know if the oak ceiling would then;
Look daft
Be overpowering
look to dark
Be hard to fit, in moulding to the shape of the beams.

We are having a hard enough job getting the floor down on an identical beam system.

Graham

 

[Cloudscape]

I'm doing a ceiling (albeit onto modern-ish rafters) using reclaimed tongue/groove beaded matchboarding, to avoid the blank plasterboard look. I'm not sure I'd use good (heavy) oak for your ceiling, partly because I was imagining seeing the painted underside of boards. I like the look, and one or two houses round me have nice old examples. My dining room has a lime plaster ceiling on laths that were nailed to the underside of the floorboards. You could use any reclaimed floorboards, even having them reduced in thickness (bunged through a thicknessing plane) to reduce weight (and increase flexibility for fitting). This is all based on my desire to keep away from juxtaposing 'interesting' wood with dead-flat plasterboard surfaces. It's just a personal preference. I like everything to look a bit wobbly. :wink:

Of course, the lovely boarded ceiling look doesn't take fire into account. :shock:

I know plasterboard can be given a wobbly skim, but it's still plasterboard and wobbly skim has an element of 'pastiche' about it.

 

[Penners]

I don't find a nice flat plastered surface unpleasant to look at, particularly if it has exposed beams in it. Indeed, I think I remember Gervase commenting some time ago that to create a 'lumpy' plastered look (as a pastiche of old lime pasterwork) is to insult the skill of the old (or not-so-old) lime plasterers.

Given that this not a 'historic' ceiling as such, if I were you I think I would be quite happy to use plasterboard and skim with gypsum. The beams look nice, and well worth leaving exposed.

I would counterbatten the sides of beams and then screw the plasterboard to the underside of the battens. Then skim.

 

[Moo]

Our attic bedrooms were plasterboarded between the beams when the whole roof had to come off over a decade ago. To my unsophisticated eye it looks quite acceptable.

 

[Penners]

Our attic bedrooms were plasterboarded between the beams when the whole roof had to come off over a decade ago. To my unsophisticated eye it looks quite acceptable.

 

[DaveBrigg]

Will you be insulating the ceiling? Kingspan would fit nicely between the joists.

 

[Moo]

My attic ceilings were insulated with something or other. Whatever it is, it works, because even with single glazing and no curtains the rooms are the warmest in the house (hot air rising?)

 

[Lime]

I gather from your description skier-hughes that you are thinking of laying the plasterboard on top of all the beams?
Nothing to stop you also putting some boarding over the plasterboard perhaps just following the beams.
With careful cutting of the plasterboard all joints could probably be under a floorboard nailed/screwed to the joist below with a seal of some sort on the joint.
You'd have the advantage of knowing where the joists are and economise on the floorboarding.

 

[Penners]

hot air rising

And where is all that hot air coming from? Eh?

 

[Cloudscape]

I don't find a nice flat plastered surface unpleasant to look at, particularly if it has exposed beams in it. Indeed, I think I remember Gervase commenting some time ago that to create a 'lumpy' plastered look (as a pastiche of old lime pasterwork) is to insult the skill of the old (or not-so-old) lime plasterers.

I meant natural, real, authentic wobbly, not artificial wobbly. :wink:

 

[Penners]

I meant natural, real, authentic wobbly, not artificial wobbly.

I suspect that you've been sneaking a peak at my plastering, and confusing it with real plastering. :wink:

 

[Lime]

Re plastering.
I had a similar discussion with friends following my substantial re-decoration of our parlour.
Most of the work involved removing previous poor alterations and repairs that had occurred over it's (mere) 100 year life.
When recounting what had been done to the room it was said to me that an old room is expected to have all lumps and bumps in the plaster and that is how old houses were built.
I totally disagreed and showed them a whole original wall that had not had any work or major repair since the house was built except the filling of one or two screw holes.
The wall was perfect and completely flat with not a bump or bulge to be seen, felt or discovered.

It is a myth to suggest that old houses had lumpy bumpy plaster originally.
Plasterers of the past produced excellent work and far exceeded the skills of today.

 

[Penners]

Plasterers of the past produced excellent work and far exceeded the skills of today.

I'm sure it's true that the best plasterers of yore were capable of a 'perfect' finish. But I'm not sure that their skills necessarily exceeded those of today's best plasterers.

Yesterday and today, I suspect that there were/are good and bad, and a substantial spectrum of mediocre in between.

 

[Flyfisher]

I agree. I've never understood the maxim that craftsman were better in the 'old days' than they are now. I can see why there might well be less of certain old skills available today but I don't see that it automatically follows that they must be lesser skills.

Anyway, wouldn't all the old shoddy work have broken/fallen down/been replaced by now, leaving only the best workmanship for us to marvel at?

 

[middi]

The reason why it appears that "craftsman of old" appeared to have more skills is due to the rate of " knots" at which they lived their lives, this, combined with that rare virtue -patience -and easily available cheap labour resulted in excellent workmanship. Bodgers and builders from hell were in plenty supply before our time as well, I am not quite sure though if it was those DIY situations that played a big part in the bodging due to luck of funds or one ripping someonelse off.

Nothing has changed really exept that nowdays due to the exorbitant way we want to live our lives and new construction methods the "craftsman" wants to work for a day and have the rest of the week off. There is no cheap labour nor room for patience.

A few real craftsman out there try their best to fill the gap an some very good work is produced. It is a culture mentality , i am afraid, that is responsible for producing " robot" craftermanship.